


The Monsters Among Us

by Suspicious_Fishious



Category: Escape the Night (Web Series)
Genre: Corruption, F/M, Literally everyone is season 3 is mentioned kinda, M/M, Slow Burn, Someone please teach me how to indent, like corrupted mat but the whole gang
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:00:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26216806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suspicious_Fishious/pseuds/Suspicious_Fishious
Summary: Living comes at a cost, you know. Everlock’s games aren’t for the innocent. An Escape the Night AU.Credit to gowlf for the whole au and designs!!
Relationships: The Daredevil | Roi Fabito/The Super Spy | Teala Dunn, The Detective | Matthew Patrick/The Record Producer | Manny MUA, Uhhh probably more
Comments: 25
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Everlock! I hear the entertainment here is killer...
> 
> Dear Journal,  
> Something is utterly wrong.

Dear Journal,

Mat here, and BOY what a night this is. Hell just came up to Earth. The whole story began with a simple invitation. Crazy, right? It really is. Joey invited us on a mission to save a town that doesn't even exist in the present day. So when we arrived at the destination to wait, and Joey was gone, our suspicions only grew. He eventually arrived at nightfall, and had us perform a seance. We had to be inhabited by spirits of those who lived in the town. I never believed in the whole "hoodoo voodoo magic" type things, so this was...a _new_ experience for me. I was possessed, along with the others. 

The gateway opened, and we were greeted by a clown. The group was freaked out by her antics, I found it delightful. We entered Everlock, and it teemed with life! We played some games (I have a pony now! Blanche!), met a man, Mortimer, who seemed...a bit off? A woman, who we know as Calliope now, seemed a tad suspicious as well, talking mumbo jumbo about the stars and some guy. Ro and I decided to escape our suspicions in a nice Ferris wheel ride! It _was_ fun at first, that is, until we found an odd newspaper about a Killer Clown Clan. We tried to warn everyone, but they couldn't hear us. We were forced to watch real chaos unfold. Fun. 

Eventually we ended up getting off the wheel, but we were cornered. Thank God for Calliope, though! She saved me and Ro. Then we had to find some jester caps...and I did something I would very much like to NOT talk about. We then...got captured by the damn clowns. Again.

Everyone was tied up to a carousel and the clowns rolled a dice of death. Perfectly safe. Nikita was about to die, until Mortimer swooped in on his motorcycle and rescued us. He led us into a lounge, where we regrouped and showed off what we found. Calliope also found the map of Everlock. Mortimer passed us a note, however. "Living comes at a price. Lives get spared, but they don't come out unscathed." 

We came to learn about the Carnival Master, and how we need to collect and cleanse his artifacts. The Jack-in-the-box Joey got was the first one, and needed to be fixed and given new parts. Roi, Manny, Ro and I split off to find a spring. We solved the Zero-G Man puzzle quickly, though one of the clowns decided to keep coming in and staggering our progress. We got what we needed, and the clown spotted us. We mad-dashed back to the lounge and met up with the others. 

The final piece was a new head, which required two people to enter a challenge to the death and pick a partner to fight for them. Someone was actually going to die. ~~But what about that note? Did it lie?~~ Everyone decided to plead their case and we discussed in small groups, and it was time for voting. I voted Jc. He and Teala were chosen, Teala chose Saf, and ironically he chose me to fight for him! ~~Did he know I voted for him?~~

We entered the challenge and I was determined to not mess this up. I had the upper hand for the first two challenges, but god, those hot dogs were dryer than sand. Saf managed to catch up and use the ketchup like water to beat me. She got ahead of me, and knowing Saf, I was screwed. Jc's cheers were starting to get more desperate, and so was I. Finally, I managed to catch up. Jc was about to live. I had a chance to win again. 

Until I failed him.

-Mat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOO BOY I ACTUALLY WROTE. Let it be known I have no idea what I’m doing with ao3, I’m slowly learning. lemme say, iM TROUBLESHOOTING REEE


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mat makes a realization and starts going anxiety mode, there's a mean snek, and somebody's very, VERY fucking pissed.

Dear Journal,

"Living comes at a price." I think I understand that now. I was devastated, watching Jc die to those clowns because of me. I still feel horrible for voting him now. We at least got the last piece, and Saf cleansed that damn box. We freed Teala, then watched in satisfaction as the clowns dissolved. But that wasn't all. Their dust clouded around Jc's body, and when it faded away, Jc was...alive. And in the worst way possible. He looked pleased and absolutely FURIOUS to see us, ~~I guess I deserve that~~ and the scariest part was that he had clown makeup and an incredibly sickening grin on. ~~Is he human still? He sounded so...vile and cruel, yet happy at the same time. I'm scared.~~ Saf, Teala and I did the logical thing and panicked as he casually approached. Jc just passed us, though, and headed back to the lounge. I swear on my life he shot me a dangerous look. I don't think Jc's happy to see me again. 

We returned to the lounge and everyone freaked out at the sight of Jc, I don't blame them honestly, and Saf looked at the note. Someone isn't telling the truth. In my head I was already thinking back to every possible moment where something seemed off in our little group, and my mind went to Joey. ~~No, not yet. I'll ask about it later.~~ Saf, Teala and I told our stories, while Jc just decided to sit back and relax. I don't think Calliope and Mortimer like him very much anymore. To be honest, me neither. Jc just seems weird right now. Creepy. I have no clue. Calliope approached us and explained after a few silent minutes, revealing that Jc can't be voted in or vote, since he's technically dead, and that he's been corrupted in a way. The baton of the creepy clown guardians was passed to him? Corrupted...I'm going keep a close eye on him. 

We return to our silent pondering, until some lady bursts in. We capture her (first time capturing somebody, yay me??) and she tells us about a man-stealing Snake Woman, which I, personally am not super excited about. We find the Serpent's eyes, and our _one_ lead gets killed by that snake, who may I say is TERRIFYING. Put some clothes on, woman. She leaves, and we head to Fat Man's Slims. On the way, Roi gets bit, with only 20 minutes to live. Ro, Colleen, Mortimer and I split off to create an antidote for him, with only a bit of trouble. It _did_ take some trial and error ~~and I think even Mortimer got a bit fed up with us~~. When we head back to the lounge with it, we see Teala too??? Somehow she got herself roped up in that mess? Nevermind it, we gave them the antidote (which I feel a bit bad about, Roi was wheezing and it looked like expired Kool-Aid), and we all rush back to the others. 

Saf goes upstairs to deliver some kind of passcode, and a man comes down with a task of...jenga? Snake jenga? Snenga? No clue. We have to play until we find a golden brick in the tower. The catch is that whoever knocks the tower over gets immediately sent into the ~~corruption~~ death challenge. I swear to god, it felt like that went on for hours. We realized that the task might be rigged, as I thought, "Huh, what if the golden brick is a structural part of the tower?" and we all agreed that someone might have to knock it over no matter what. The question was, who? Turns out we didn't have to worry about that for long. Roi offered to do it, since I save his life from the poison. Nikita chimed in, or should I say challenged him, claiming that he should do it, as the Daredevil of the group. And Roi did. Goddamn. He just got us the Serpent's head.

We put the eyes in, and then had no choice but to vote someone in along with Roi. Nikita went vocal, and is starting to create some divisions in our little group, so I choose to vote her in. ~~I swear to god I heard Jc telling people to vote me in. Asshole.~~ And yet again, the one I choose gets voted in. Shit. One of them is gonna die. No. They're going to live. If Nikita or Roi end up anything like the monster Jc became, our ship's gonna sink. Fast. As we wait in silence, Ro begins to crack and my mind instantly goes brother mode. She admits she voted for someone who she didn't really work with, and I exchange a quick look with Manny. We're both thinking the same thing. Ro voted for Nikita. So did I, but I don't think I wanna say after seeing the anxiety on his face. Our group therapy's cut short by Mortimer and Calliope. I spot Nikita's jacket and panic. Did I just kill another innocent life? Who won? Are they both...no. No, they couldn't have.

I don't think this night's going to get any better.

-Mat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the ball be rollin now :)))). next up: our new favorite snek, and oh god oh fuck a tall guy.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nikita scares the shit out of everyone for .000002 seconds, someone lost their R rights, and the gang deals with everyone's biggest fear, a tall person.

Dear Journal,

Good news! My questions were answered! Bad news, I was right. A few seconds later, we heard Nikita scream something along the lines of, "wHAT THE SHIT," and we knew she won. That meant...Roi's some kind of monster now. We rushed over, only to see a very pissed and panicked Nikita, and a garden snake???? With a monocle? And a lack of ability to pronounce R's? Nikita death-stared us, which I'm pretty sure I deserved, and said that snake was Roi. The snake looked up at us and confirmed, "It's Woi! Guys!" which scared the living hell out of us. At least he's not a psychopathic clown.

Nikita gave us a cold warning, then returned to the lounge. We followed, and sat down to discuss our next action, especially now with this "Lazarus box" we found. Roi managed to turn back into a human ~~?~~ and regained his R pronunciation rights (thank GOD). Unlike Jc, he's a bit more normal, if you don't count the patches of green scales, snake eyes, fangs and forked tongue. He's actually sane! Yay! He seems very energetic, reassuring Nikita he forgave her pretty quickly, and I think he's excited to be alive? I guess being a snake doesn't bother him. ~~As long as he actually tries to help, he's down in my book. otherwise he might have to leave him in Everlock. Sorry guys.~~

As per usual, our discussion was interrupted. Something fell from the roof and...oh wonderful! A dead body! And we just robbed him by taking his book. We find out about The Statue of Era and The Man with No Name, and we had to match six books with six obituaries based on how they died. A secret room opens up (was that always there or did it just...appear??), and we find the Statue of Era, though nobody can touch it. In order to cleanse it, we need four obsidian stones, which required us to split into two teams, with the losers' team being put up for vote. There's also another challenge at the pump station, which get the team who completes it the first of the coins, along with a large advantage. 

We draw straws, the people with the short straws being the leaders, which are Manny and Teala. Teala, as the youngest, chooses first....and picks me (Along with Saf, and Ro, with Mortimer and Jc to guide us). Damn ~~I wanted to be with Manny~~. Both teams need to find three severed fingers. Yay! I love finding severed body parts! The issue is that The Man with No Name is on the hunt for us, and can take us out of the search for five minutes. 

Turns out, I really should've asked Manny to pick me. His team found the stones, and Team Teala was up for voting. When Ro and Teala were picked, my heart sank. If Ro turned into...some monster I was probably going to cry in front of everyone. Which's probably the last thing everyone in this room, except for clown Jc, wants. So when Ro came back, saying she was a fighter, I was happier than everyone combined, not to brag. Like I said, how Rosanna got her groove back!! Teala did die, but at least we have another artifact cleansed. We were happy for a bit, then we remembered the Pump Station. We...didn't get the Lazarus coin. Shoot. 

And just when we thought things couldn't get worse, we heard another bang on the roof.

What the hell?

-Mat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> INCONSISTENT AND REALLY QUICK UPDATES BECAUSE WRITING MOODS YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. also don't hurt me but MAN I didn't enjoy ep 4 so I tried. next up: get your online translators, we goin feral. also BOY OH BOY DO THINGS GET GOOD SOON HEEHOO


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, shit. Something went wrong. And Ro’s here to tell the story.

Dear ~~Diary~~ Mat’s Super top Secret Journal,

Ro here! A lot of things just happened, and unfortunately Mat...isn’t here right now. I’ll get into that in a bit. Mat usually recaps each day here, so I’ll try my best to do so. Where did we leave off? Oh, Teala! We hurried on outside and found Teala! She had a bunch of bandages, and was super tall like Benjamin. Roi was _very_ excited to see her, and he turned into a cute little snake again!! Teala started speaking...Spanish? Latin? Mat said it was “Minecraft Enchanting Table” and wrote down a few translations with Roi’s help, which I’ll copy down here. 

“||𝙹⚍ ʖ╎ℸ ̣ ᓵ⍑ᒷᓭ ⍑ᔑ!¡!¡|| ╎ ↸╎ᒷ↸”

”ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ⎓⚍ᓵꖌ ⍑𝙹∴ ᓵᔑリ ∷𝙹╎ ⚍リ↸ᒷ∷ᓭℸ ̣ ᔑリ↸ ᒲᒷ”

”⊣⚍||ᓭ ∴⍑ᒷ∷ᒷᓭ ⋮𝙹ᒷ||? ↸╎↸ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᔑℸ ̣ ʖ╎ℸ ̣ ᓵ⍑ ↸╎ᒷ?”

I have no idea what any of it means, but Roi slithered off to look for Joey, and we followed. Everyone seems to be suspicious of Joey, but I was more concerned for him, I guess my mama bear instincts kicked in. Was he okay? Is he hurt? We found him, and Calliope came on over with the map. So we have to find our strongest person, so we can open the Strong Man’s box. It’s an arm wrestling tournament! I face off against Colleen, with the help of a step-stool, and I win!!! Yay! Listen, never underestimate this cinnamon roll. I bake for a living! It takes a lot of strength! I lost to Mat, though. Manny beat Mat and proved himself as the strongest! Good for him. He opens the box, and we retrieve the first part of the artifact!

Our celebration gets cut short, though, with the Strongman himself and his girlfriend busting in. Safiya and I get captured and put in jail, and the two monsters do something...gross. Safiya and I start searching around the cell, and we find a note, a spoon, and a place to dig. Joey and a few others come to our rescue, though they can’t get us out. Safiya works to get us out along with Joey and the others, while I’m digging, digging, digging. We get a piece of the pyramid, and I decide to sacrifice my platform oxfords to finish the job. And it payed off, we got a Lazarus coin!!!!!! Woohoo! We got freed, and everyone booked it back to the lounge. 

We regroup, and have to help solve this big 3D puzzle. It’s a bit difficult, especially with the Strongman on the hunt, but we did it! Our group headed back to the lounge, and we had to vote one of the guys in so we could find a new Strongman. I felt horrible for Joey during the voting discussion. He told us how he died, and Mat...lost it. I understood he was angry, but Joey was so scared! I didn’t know what to do. So when Mat and Manny got chosen, I felt relieved for Joey, but so, so scared for Mat. He lost against Manny in the arm wrestle, and Mat looked so frightened.   
  
We had to watch!!! Mat and Manny actually were neck-and-neck, until another arm wrestle. I couldn’t look. Mat lost. I can’t think about it. I love Mat, he’s always been a team player, always ready to do what’s right. So when the Strongman took Mat and killed him, I made a promise to keep his go-getter attitude.   
  
We cleansed the artifact, then heard a roaring scream outside. Teala! Mat! Manny looked at me, hopeful, and said something along the lines of, “Why does it sound like Mat got kicked in the knees?” Before we could get up, Mat burst in! I was SO happy to see him!! He looked so angry though, and kept roaring about blood thirst. He had the Strongman arm!!!!!! Super scary! We all scattered around the lounge, with Jc, Roi and Manny approaching him. Roi coiled around the strong arm, only to be thrown against the wall. Safiya rushed over to him to check on our slithery friend, while I started to approach Mat and calm him down. Joey blocked me from Mat though!!! Manny managed to restrain him, and Jc viciously hit him over the head with a bat!!!!!!!! WHY?! Mat passed out, so Manny and Joey picked him up and headed back to the police station. We fixed the bars on the cell, then reluctantly locked him up. I hope he'll be okay. We all headed back to the lounge, with a whole lot of despair. Mat's gone crazy, so we just lost one of our best players. I'm gonna hold onto his badge in his honor and pray for something good. Things are gonna get better, right? 

-Ro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GOD IM SO SORRY THIS TOOK FOREVER I LOST MY STORY TELLING ABILITIES. hope ya liked it! next up: Mat has anger issues, we got gay baby jail, Ro goes parent mode, we’ve got murder dolls and bitching. how lovely.


End file.
